Anxiety is very high among young people right now, confusion, lack of understanding and fear can all lead to people feeling stressed and anxious. As a parent myself, and thinking about how I feel at the moment, it concerns me what is going through the minds of our kids.
I read an article last week about how our brains deal with the unknown. Interestingly it doesn't deal with it very well, trying to gather information from where it can to fill in the spaces. So when we hear information that concerns us most of us will go straight to google and media outlets to try and find answers. Sometimes we find the information we need to put our minds at rest, other times we don't. That’s when it can leave us in a situation where we have to try and destress to override the feelings of doubt and worry. Everybody has different ways of doing this; going for a walk, talking to family or friends, participating in sport or going to the gym.
This got me asking the question, do our kids have these tools to override the feeling of doubt and worry? If they do that's great, but if they don't, what is happening to their mental wellbeing?
The questions I found myself asking are the reasons for starting our kids, teens and young adults Inclusive Online Yoga Classes. A lot of research has been done in recent years looking into Yoga and how it can help mental health. Yoga has been shown to increase body awareness, relieve stress, reduce muscle tension, strain, and inflammation. It sharpens attention and concentration, calms and centres the nervous system. Kids Yoga uses storytelling methods i.e flying on magic carpets, (yoga mats), going on a picnic where the kids can pick the food they want to take. These stories encourage a playful way to create adventurous journeys, both physically and mindfully.
Please watch the video above of Emma demonstrating how she teaches the class and how she can adapt yoga to make them inclusive to as many participants as possible.
https://www.rmr-rehabilitation.co.uk/online-kids-group-exercise-classes